Tommy Ramone, Original Ramones Drummer, Dies At 62

Tommy Ramone, the drummer for the legendary punk band the Ramones, has died at the age of 62. He had been in hospice care after treatment for bile duct cancer.

Born Tommy Erdelyi in Budapest, Hungary as the child of Holocaust survivors, he founded the group with Jeffrey Hyman (Joey Ramone), John Cummings (Johnny) and Douglas Colvin (Dee Dee) in Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. They famously rose to local fame at a new Manhattan club, CBGB, and they were signed to Sire Records by the end of 1975.

After three groundbreaking studio albums that mixed '60s sunny pop melodies with aggressive rock music and dead-end kid lyrics, Tommy left to concentrate on record production, which included working behind the glass with his former band on 1978's 'Road to Ruin,' the live set 'It's Alive' (1979) and 'Too Tough To Die' (1984). His most famous outside production was 1985's 'Tim,' the major label debut by the Replacements. He also produced 'Neurotica,' the fourth record from the power pop band Redd Kross.

Ramone was the last surviving original member of the group. Joey died in 2001, followed by Dee Dee (2002) and Johnny (2004). The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.